This and That

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

I opened up the door to take the dog out this morning and walked into a wall of heat and humidity. It was warmer outside than in my house! It's supposed to be in the 80s today ... but don't think that means sun. It means steam! We're still expecting rain today. It *does* look like tomorrow might be nicer -- clouds in the morning, but sunny and warm in the afternoon. DH talked to his folks about fishing, so he just might get his day out (I'm doing everything: crossing fingers, praying, dancing to the sun gods...)

Also, I checked and last year we found our first swallowtail caterpillars on June 29th ... that date is looming, so if we get a little sun over the next day or two (so butterflies can actually ... yanno... FLY) we're going to start checking for eggs and babies. The milkweed is coming up, too. So I expect Pillar Place 2011 to start soon.

RE: the dog who fell off the dog walk on Sunday. I heard from the owner yesterday and she said she was shocked, but that Missy was absolutely fine. Thank goodness. I told DD and she was relieved. I think she'll always feel like it was her fault, but that's something she'll have to figure out on her own, I guess.

Last night, I got this really strong image for a scene in "Now and Forever". That happens to my quite often really. I tend to "see" parts of the book in my head, like a movie. This one will be my ending scene, and I think it has both an "awwwwww" factor, which I strive for, but should also make the reader laugh.

Today, God willing and DH don't fuss (*G*), I'm going to get it written down.

Then ... I think it's ready to submit. Finally!! My goal is to have my query and synopsis done by next week. I hate writing synopses...

I was reminded how much worse my life could be due to weather problems yesterday, when an author friend who lives in Minneapolis shared her tornado story (she's fine). I have a brother who lives on the Missouri border and who has family only a few miles from Joplin, the town that was completely destroyed by the tornado that hit (they're fine). And then I think about the farmers in Mississippi who've deliberately had their lands flooded in a very Spock-like "the good of the many over the good of the few" decision (though I do wonder how this will impact food prices over the next year). I have to say, I'm SO proud of those farmers. They took the decision to flood their lands stoically, and then took steps to protect what they could. Seeing pictures like this makes me proud:



I can't imagine how awful it was for them to see their land and their livelihood underwater. But good for them for doing what they could to protect what was theirs.

So, although I really hate all the rain ... I remember it could be far, far worse than it is.

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You Are Trustworthy

Of all the types, you are the most responsible and loyal. You take your duties seriously. You thrive when you are able to do something practical and productive. You hate to waste your time. Some people say that you are a bit neurotic or cautious, but you believe it's better to be safe than sorry. You do your best to live a engaging and important life. You want what you do to matter.

The Scribble Circle Test

That's about right...

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BACK! And hoping it sticks...

Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all. ~William Faulkner

Many thanks to Judy for keeping y'all updated (and I laughed when I saw her YouTube videos!). Our power came back on about 30 minutes ago and I'm hoping it stays on! We had about 4 - 5" of heavy, wet snow last night and are expecting more snow today and tomorrow and maybe even Monday, so I know it's tough for the power guys out there. I'm so appreciative of all their hard work.

The damage here was pretty astounding -- LOTS of really huge trees down, and branches and debris everywhere. It looked like a tornado had hit. We had power lines down in the road with trees on top of them on both major roads out of my neighborhood.

I'm just glad I can flush my toilet without having to retrieve buckets of water from the creek 150 yards out back!!

In any case, I'm back (and hoping to stay that way) but have to get working on LASR/WC stuff in the worst way, so will sign off for now. Thanks to all for your positive thoughts and comments. They were all greatly appreciated. I'm obviously far behind on blogs and touching base, and will try to catch up as soon as I can.

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Saying Thanks!

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~ G.B. Stern



Diane Craver gave me this lovely blog award. Thanks, Diane!

Here are the rules:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to other blogs.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Although I don't always comment, I usually make it by several blogs nearly every day (or at least when the update):

Tori
Brandy
Melissa McClone
Allie Boniface
Dru Ann
Jen
Ceri Hebert
Sarita Leon
Keri Mikulski
Maria Zannini
Jennifer Shirk
Wendi Zwaduk
Charity Tahmaseb

And ... gah... so many more I'm probably forgetting some (I feel a little like I won an Academy Award, lol). But, hey -- I love you guys!!

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As you probably know from the posts below, yesterday was busy in Pillar Place: Swallowtail. Sadly, we may have also had a casualty, though we won't know for a week or so.

Carole, the pillar who made her pupa on the netting, had an accident. When we release the butterflies, we carry the entire box outside with us (the last thing we need is for the butterfly to be lose in the house). Yesterday, when we released Able and had set down the box, the wind blew it over. It gave ALL the remaining pupae a good jolt, but Carole had one set of her anchors break, and literally dangled by a thread. They can't hatch like this, not safely, so I made an executive decision.

Handling the pupae is never a good idea, but I had little choice. And, I remembered reading that super glue was originally developed for closing wounds, so I hoped it wouldn't injure the butterfly.

Yep. I used superglue gel (I figured the gel would be less likely to soak through the outside casing) and glued Carole back into place. I had to hold her for several minutes, though, and just manipulating her into place required a large amount of handling. The last time we had any of our pupae fall, the butterfly emerged only partly formed.

It's been a rough season for Pillar Place. Because of the incessant rain, the butterflies haven't been able to eat or breed efficiently. Last year, we raised nearly 30 swallowtails and we left several butterbabies outside (on DD's carrots) to raise themselves. This year, we've been unable to find ANY pillars except the nine we found originally, and this includes looking on my SILs dill plants (where we hit the motherload last year). So, I'm worried, and I deeply value each of our butterflies. They may be nine of only a few hundred that survive this season.

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You Are a Monroe Piercing

You are glamourous, sophisticated, and very classy. You're the type to think carefully before getting any sort piercing or tattoo. You are naturally charming. People find you to be very alluring. Your manners are impeccable, and you always have something witty to say. While you look like you're high maintenance, you have simple tastes. You're a homebody who often rather curl up with a book than go out.

What Piercing Are You?

Yep, that's me: glamorous, sophisticaed and very classy! LOL... seriously though, they have most of it pretty close. And since my only piercings are in my ears and I have NO tats I'd say I'm pretty careful about them.

You?

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The Aftermath...

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

First off... thanks to everyone for your comments from Tuesday. The hugs were awesome and appreciated!

Charity... I have high hopes as to what you're sending (I hope, I hope).

Darcy (who is not Charity, no matter what Blogger thinks!): Sorry I stressed you out!

Groovy: I still think the ER response was a bit of overkill (we ended up with four engines, 3 Fire SUVs and 4 cop cars from two towns). We're a little town and I honestly think there really isn't that much excitement going on, so when something happens, it's a bit like a party.

To the rest of you: MWAH! I'm WAY behind on my blog reading... but I'll get back to it soon.

Here's a little bit of what's been going on.

First off, when making cookies as a gift -- do NOT use a new, untried recipe. I did, and ended up with a terrible mess. I ended up going to the store bakery and buying some because I was so demoralized.

Second, it's amazing at the difference between contractors. We've been getting estimates for repair the past two days and WOW! From a guy who didn't even look at stuff, just wrote it up for what "probably" needed doing, to a guy who took an hour peering up the chimney, climbing around on the roof, and answering the gazillion questions my husband peppered him with.

Third, dogs like to eat creosote. Blech. The fireman had dumped the contents of the wood stove and all the gunk that had fallen out of the chimney onto a pile of snow in the lawn. Dakota decided that it was all for her to play in. So, yesterday, I shoveled it all up and dumped it WAY back in the woods in a pile of branches. Hopefully, no other critters get into it. My thought is that wild animals are too busy surviving to play in the mess. And, one good rainstorm, and it'll be gone.

Fourth, it's ABSOLUTELY AMAZING how quickly a chimney catches on fire. In only a few seconds, the entire thing was aflame. WOW. But we apparently have one of the best built chimneys the fire department (and the contractors) have ever seen, and had it not been so well built, the house probably would have gone up. Evidently, the original contractor not only did everything within code, but actually went a few steps further to make it even more safe. We're actually trying to find out who it was and thank him as well. People so seldom get thanked for doing their jobs (humans are more likely to complain than to thank, IMHO), so we want to do what we can.

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You Are an Acai Berry

You are an intense, fascinating person with a very strong personality. You don't shy away from controversy, and you're incredibly independent. You are cultured, knowledgeable, and worldly. You have a deep understanding of things. You are lively and healthy. You believe your body is a temple, and you treat it as such.

What Tropical Fruit Are You?

Cultured? No... and I do have the occasional french fry, but try to eat well. Otherwise, okay, maybe.

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It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind. ~Malayan Proverb

Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls. ~David Thomas

You ever have one of those days that really just sucks? Where nothing goes right and you keep thinking: it can't get any worse?

I'm here to to tell you that it can. OTOH, if you look closely enough, you can often find the good inside.

Yesterday was a really awful day. But my family and I were truly blessed.

Those of you on Facebook already know what the worst part was. Here's the story behind it.

Sunday, we'd let the fire go out. We were pretty much out of wood to burn -- left with only pieces that were too big to fit and needed splitting. DH didn't want to do that, and rumor has it that it IS spring, so we figured we'd just heat with oil from now on.

Monday morning was the coldest morning we've had in I don't know how long. Frigid temps, extremely high winds... brrr... DD asked if I would PLEASE build a fire, because she was cold (we get spoiled--the stove keeps it in the mid-to-high 70s during the winter, and I won't run the oil heat that warm). So... I went out, chopped wood and built a fire. Around lunch time, after eating, we ran errands and were gone for about two hours. And, yes, we left the stove burning.

We got home, she went upstairs to do school, I called my mom (who ended with, "I hope things get better." in a moment of irony) and then worked for a bit. At 4:00, the fire had burned down, so I loaded up the stove with wood, and then sat on the floor in front of it with Dakota. A moment later I heard a crackling sound, a "whoosh!!" and then roaring in my chimney. Outside, there was so much smoke, I couldn't even see my lawn. I yelled at DD to grab the dog and get outside. Next thing I knew, my neighbor is beating on my door, his phone in hand.

"Your chimney is on fire! I've already called the fire department."

Thank God (and truthfully, God was hanging out with my family yesterday... just saying) he did. I knew something was wrong, but my brain hadn't put all the pieces together yet. I would probably have called my DH first.

"Honey, there's a roaring in the chimney and smoke pouring out. Should I worry?"

I don't panic under pressure. Can you tell?

And, actually, I did call DH to tell him that we had a chimney fire.

"Hi. Hey, the chimney's on fire. But don't worry, the fire dept's on their way."

Next thing I knew, my SIL is tearing down the road in her truck. She jumps out, brandishing two home fire extinguishers.

"DH called and said for me to grab them and head over. Do you know how to use them?"

I opted to wait for the fire dept, though I did dump two pitchers of water over the fire in the stove, and shut it down. Then I threw my laptop and purse into the truck, just in case. I have my priorities.

A fire SUV showed up and the guy came inside to assess the damage. Behind him were two fire engines and two cop cars (why cop cars? I'm still stymied). Then another fire engine and another SUV and a third cop car.

I let them do their thing and stood outside watching flames shooting out of my chimney. And, yes, I wanted to take pictures. But my camera was dead. Sorry. It was pretty spectacular.

Dd's friend, Bugsy's, mom came running down the road. She saw me, grabbed me and squeezed.

"I saw the engines, looked outside and saw smoke pouring off your roof!"

And, no, the house wasn't on fire, but the wind was whipping all the smoke out of the chimney, and it did look like it was on fire.

She took DD and Dd home with her. DD was shaking and her teeth were chattering and she was a wreck. Never to let a homeschooling moment pass, I said:

"That's from the adrenaline. Remember in science when they talked about it and said it helped us be strong in dangerous situations -- fight or flight?"

Yep, that's really what I did.

In any case, after 90 mins or so, they had the fire under control. Thankfully, they didn't have to shoot water down the chimney. They dropped some kind of "bomb" down a few times (stunk to high heaven), and used retardant, which they actually shot up from the bottom.

The took off our mantle and cut a hole in the wall to check if everything was out. They have these nifty thermal cameras to check for hot spots in the wall, but we were clear. They had closed all the doors in the house (bless them!!) so only the downstairs and the stairs were a mess from the powder and ash.

Yes, we had MASSIVE creosote buildup. Ironically, the fire chief thinks it's because of the work we had done on our chimney this year. We had it cleaned and capped, and he said the cap was far too short and inhibited the draft. We've never had a creosote problem before.

Clean up was fun. Ha. But the firemen were unbelievably considerate. They took my pictures off the wall and moved them, and the covered what the could with tarps. It could have been far worse.

Well... actually, had it happened when I was out on errands, it could have burned the house down.

So see... blessed. Truly. Everything just fell into place. Me being home. My neighbor driving by. The fire dept being so close (and available). The firemen being so thoughtful. The only structural damage was to the chimney itself (and a little to the wall, but that's easy to fix.

And, hey -- looks like DH will finally get that log mantle he's been wanting!!

A picture of the aftermath (when I was able to charge my camera) -- do you see? They didn't even break my frog!! I love the firemen. I am baking cookies today and bringing them by. Awesome guys.



And that was my day. How was yours?

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Okay...

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination." — Tommy Lasorda

Thanks to Allie for the smack upside the head, and to Charity for reminding me that the world won't come to an end if things don't work perfectly in my first draft, and that it's okay to write drivel the first time through (which is a good thing... seriously).

Unfortunately, it didn't make writing any easier this a.m., but I did write... 656 words. I randomly switched back and forth from third to first person for no apparent reason (which is going to be fun to fix, ha) and just let what happened, happen. If I end up chopping out the first 5000 words when I edit, so be it. It's not as though 50,000 words is enough for a full length novel anyway, so I'd need to keep on writing regardless.

I'm going to try to write again later today, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise (and DH doesn't have plans he didn't tell me about... like yesterday).

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Things I'm grateful for today: That I can leave my birdfeeders out at night, and that DH started up the wood stove (so I would be cold while dealing with having a cold).

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Random photo - my SIL's cat:



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Thankful Tuesday

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G.K. Chesterton

First off: Dakota is fine! YAY!

The lump was more than likely caused by some sort of trauma (she plays ROUGH with her friends), and it has gone down dramatically to just a smooth pink owie. Thank heavens. The thought of cancer with another dog is more than I think any of us could handle. Reminds me of that movie (I think Holly Hunter was in it), where they whisper the word sitting around the dining table:

"Did you hear about (Uncle Joe)?"

::everyone shakes their heads::

((stage whisper)) "Cancer."

Anyway, thanks for your well wishes.

I dreamed about Bailey last night (and a train, oddly... maybe I need some analysis). I still miss her terribly. I got a birthday card in the mail for her from PetsMart (her 12th birthday would have been on the 15th), and it sort of threw me. I need to remember to mention that to them when I go to doggy obedience tomorrow.

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Didn't get a lot of actual writing done yesterday -- DD was particularly needy, so I was up and down and up and down... and, I admit, I went to the "after book sale" at our library and came away with two big boxes of books -- apparently there aren't a lot of folks who like romance (except the ones who bought the books initially) because I scooped! And, when I'm done reading them, I'm shipping them off to my mom who puts them out at the local senior center.

Sadly, there weren't many children's books, so DD didn't do nearly as well.

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Answering blog comments (because I can never remember to do so on the actual comments spot):

Groovy: I have no idea if "incent" is a real word, LOL. I've been using (and have heard it used) for years, but that doesn't mean anything. People say "snuck" (ACK, ACK, ACK), too.

Keri: What's "Boo at the zoo"? I imagine it has something to do with Halloween, but it sounds cute. Was just curious...

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How did your Monday go? Am I the only person who enjoys that particular day?

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